


Flores

by GaylartMess



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-05-18 20:39:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19342207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaylartMess/pseuds/GaylartMess
Summary: The Land of the Dead is full of opportunities. You can open a flower shop, to fill the land with plastic plants, study Alebrije care, or even meet someone you never would have met in the living world.When Oscar and Felipe make a last-minute stop in a small Flower shop, they find themselves getting caught up in motorbike rides, alebrije troubles, stolen hats and haywire inventions.





	1. Daffodil

**Author's Note:**

> A part of me was worried about finally putting the re-write out, in case I wouldn't be satisfied with it. Or even because I thought others wouldn't enjoy it? Either way, I'm just going to go for it and have fun! So if you're reading, I hope you enjoy it too

“-Although, that could have worked just as well.”  
  
“Maybe, but if it didn’t it could have ruined the whole mechanism again.”  
  
“That’s true. I suppose we’ll just have to-”  
  
“-See what happens, I agree.”  
  
The two men spoke back and forth as they made their way down the street. A relatively empty street, with very few skeletons out and about, though it still bustled with activity as it was made up of store fronts and sale carts.  
  
“I don’t think Imelda is going to be so happy with what we’re bringing back, Oscar.” The one on the right spoke, voice wavering slightly as he glanced toward the bag held in his right hand, which clattered with various knick-knacks and parts as he walked. His twin was a mirror image, holding a bag equally packed bag in his left hand.  
  
“I think you’re right, Felipe.” He spoke, voice low. “Perhaps we can sneak this all straight into the basement?”  
  
Felipe grimaced. “We told her we were going out for supplies. You don't think she’ll ask about that if we come in empty handed?”  
  
Oscar mulled it over before shrugging. “Hmm…” He hummed, nonchalant. “Either way, it’s not like we said we were going out for anything else?”  
  
Out of the corner of his eye his twin nodded. Suddenly Felipe left his vision completely, and Oscar paused to glance back, finding Felipe stood still with his brows furrowed deeply.  
  
“ _Hermano_ ?” Oscar leaned toward him, confused.  
  
“Wait…” Felipe mumbled, his eyes searching across the ground for a moment. His gaze snapped up toward his brother in a sudden panic. “Today! What is today?”  
  
Oscar frowned, shaking his head slightly. “Friday, _Hermano_ .”  
  
“No, no, the date. What’s the date today?”  
  
Oscar’s jaw worked for a moment, his mouth widening to speak. His eyes widened and they both stared at each other in panic.  
  
“Tomorrow!” Oscar yelled.  
  
“Rosita’s birthday!” Felipe confirmed, voice cracking with worry. Oscar slapped his free hand to his forehead, nearly throwing his hat off his skull.  
  
“Oh, how did we forget?” He groaned as he glanced about, fingers curling into his hair under the hat.  
  
“We said we’d get her flowers, right? Her favourites- .”  
  
“-Roses.” Oscar nodded.  
  
“Sí. Red and pink?”  
  
“I think she likes the yellow ones as well?”  
  
“We’ll worry about the colours later.” Felipe waved it off, adjusting the bag in his grasp and taking a few hurried steps onward,  “Maybe we should actually find somewhere we can buy them first.”  
  
Oscar quickly caught up to his _gemelo’s_ pace, “Good idea. We’d better get looking.”  
  
“There has to be one nearby…” The two glanced about, frantic. Side by side they continued a steady, hurried pace down the street, at some point accidentally bumping shoulders with a few strangers in their search.  
  
They nearly always got Rosita flowers for her birthday. Well, the only occasions when they hadn’t was when they had tried to do more, but that ‘more’ involved upgrading some of her favourite cooking appliances, which had ended up more… Broken, than they had been before.  
It was just a few miscalculations on their part, but after a particularly bad mess Imelda had the heel of her boot up to their faces, swearing that if they pulled something like that again she’d ban them from tinkering with anything in the house again. Now, _technically_ Imelda never said they couldn’t take things _out_ of the house and tinker with them there. But they were sure Rosita, as grateful as she insisted she was, ended up very distressed about the damage done to her beloved kitchen space.  
The hassle that came from that incident was enough to convince the two to keep the gift simple the next few years and this one around.  
Although, maybe they could take another look over the blueprints and faults for birthdays in the future?  
  
They reached the curve of the street’s end, coming down into a flatter space where the shops began to space out a touch. The road was built so cars and various vehicles could travel down, but people were freely walking about in the road at leisure paces indicated it wasn't something to be too concerned about.  
After a few meters, Felipe jabbed Oscar’s ribs with his elbow directing his twins attention toward the other side of the street.  
  
It took Oscar a moment, but his eyes landed on the building his brother was pointing toward, primarily the shop space squeezed between a decently sized garage and a stairway that led to a cosy, two story living space spread atop it and the garage.  
From their place across the street both brothers could see the words ‘ _VERA FLORES_ ’ clearly printed to the right side corner of the window.  
  
He and Felipe shared a look, mirrored expressions and sighs of relief, before making their way across the street toward the building, keeping an eye out for any people walking past.

Oscar gave the building another once over.  
A metal fence stood around the top part of the garage, creating a small terrace with a door leading back into the house. Like most buildings in the land of the dead there were spots of lights at the edges of the roofs, unlit in the evening light. Most of the building was coloured a very soft violet, the exception being the shop which was beige.

Flora burst from the front in flurries of green and coloured specks, some plastic, some metal and some paper, though Oscar almost forgot they couldn’t be actual, living plants for a moment. Now closer, he could see the tell-tale plastic reflection shine on a succulent potted by the rouge doorway.  
The window paved view to a shop full of even more plants along the window pane, near the corner of the window and close to the doorway hung a list of weekdays and beside them the opening and closing times of the shop.  
  
Oscar leaned in to read over the times as Felipe shift over to the opposite side of the door way, inspecting a hanging plant in a woven basket just above his eye level.

From Monday to Friday the times were the same, the shop appearing to close a few hours earlier on Saturday while Sunday was the only day listed as closed.  
Double checking the times, he glanced up at the time listed beside Friday. _8:30AM - 5:30PM.  
_  
From his pocket he dug out an old watch, one he and Felipe had fixed many years ago, flipping the lid open to look at the current time.  
_4:03PM._  
  
He glanced back up as he resealed the lid of the watch and pushed it back into his pocket, glancing over just as Felipe jumped at the sound of the lid sealing, fingers retracting from a leaf hanging from the overhead basket as his back straightened, shoulders rising.  
Oscar glanced toward the doorway, frowning. A small sign hung in the top window of the rouge door, reading OPEN in careful, large letters.

Oscar rubbed his fingers over his moustache. He smiled, leaning closer to Felipe who had shuffled over until they were shoulder to shoulder, his hands clasped together in front of his chest.

“ _¿Hermano?_ ”

“Hm?”

“Do you suppose they’re open?” He glanced toward Felipe with a knowing smirk, nodding toward the clear lettering on the door. Felipe looked to the sign before turning to Oscar with a mirrored smirk.

“I’m not sure. If only they had a clearer indication.”

“A sign, perhaps?” Oscar shrugged.

“Would make things-”

“-Far easier, agreed.”

They chuckled to themselves before remaining where they were. Both were suddenly quiet.  
  
“Well.” Felipe muttered, uncertain.  
  
“Well.” Oscar parroted. “...We should go in, _sí_?”  
  
“ _Sí_ , We should.”  
  
Again, neither twin moved. Another moment passed and Oscar side eyed Felipe, who side eyed him back with a nervous glance.  
  
Oscar rolled his shoulders, shaking off the small twinge of anxiety that had settled in his ribcage. Neither he nor Felipe were fond of new places, but it was easier for him to take the lead. He knew Felipe’s nerves would get the better of him if he didn’t go first, so Oscar was willing to push down the discomfort to make things a little easier for the both of them.  
  
He approached the door, entering the shop.

A small bell chimed as the door was opened and Felipe glanced up toward it as he ducked into the shop after his twin, their shoe heels clicking against the polished wooden flooring. When the door closed, both could hear faint noises drifting out into the shop from further in the building.

There were various plants stacked on shelves on the wall opposite the entrance, mostly succulents with varying shapes and sizes. Closer to the right hand corner shelf, the leaves from a plant hung down toward the various flowers grouped in colours and types displayed by the wall. At the left end of the room was a counter with a glass window underneath, displaying small empty vases and pots, behind the counter along the wall and stacked on shelves were more in varying sizes, meant for larger bundles of flowers than the ones under the counter.  
  
Oscar stepped further into the shop, walking around and analysing a display in the centre of the room. Felipe was looking over the roses displayed by the large window, nearly bumping his head against one of the hanging baskets just overhead of the display.

A gleam at the counter caught his attention and he walked over, curious. Felipe joined him as they both of their attention was drawn to the small silver bell on the counter. Oscar glanced at the empty spot behind the desk, looking toward the open archway in the wall. He leaned over the counter ever so slightly to see if he could see anything beyond the doorway, but he could only catch a glimpse of grey, worn down walls and the very edge of... Well, the plastic look made him think of a heavy bag but he couldn’t risk leaning further without possibly going over the counter.  
  
Felipe’s shoulder bumped his roughly and Oscar yelped, slapping his hands against the counter to stop himself from falling over, accidentally hitting the bell.  
  
Both men stilled as the metallic sound rang, echoing around them. As the sound thinned, they hastily pushed themselves up, the sound of something heavy clattered further in the shop past the doorway behind the counter.  
  
“ _Lo siento._ ” Felipe whispered. “I lost my balance.”  
  
“We were probably going to need to ring it at some point anyway.” Oscar grimaced.  
  
He gently clasped the edge of the bell which was near enough off the counters edge and slid it back to where it had been, moving his fingers away delicately to not further disturb it.

Both men stiffened, jumping at the sound of something thudding against the floor and the humming noise halt. Oscar only realised something had been making the low, mechanical hum since they entered the shop, but he’d only noticed when it had been silenced. He tilted his head, trying to listen a bit harder. He swore he could hear muttering, but he wasn't able to decipher much when his mind was also trying to focus on the soft music muffled through the walls. It sounded filtered. He only knew that it was noise and music, but nothing really beyond that.

Oscar’s thoughts were paused by a figure hurrying through the doorway in the corner of the room behind the counter.

“ _¡Lo siento!_ I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” The woman smiled apologetically, the yellow petal patterns under her cheekbones scrunching slightly on her thin skull. Felipe jumped at the sudden movement and straightened himself next to Oscar as the woman hurriedly took her place behind the desk.

As she stopped she cleaned her fingers on the green apron draped over her front, before reaching up to push up her square glasses, thumb pressing against the bridge before placing her hands down on the desk in front of her, smiling up at them.

“Welcome, _Señores_. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

Felipe looked at Oscar. Oscar looked at Felipe, silently waiting for a cue for the other to speak as they shuffled away from the counter, seeming to be more aware of just how close they had been.

“Well-” Felipe began slowly, not looking away from his twin.

“-We have a birthday coming up.” Oscar continued, turning his head to glance at the woman who nodded. “We were hoping to get flowers, since-”

“-She’s very fond of them!”

“ _¡Sí!_ We were thinking primarily roses? Red, or even-”

“-Or pink? Perhaps-”

“-Even yellow? I’m certain she would like yellow as well..” Oscar glanced back to Felipe for confirmation as his brother nodded. Both turned their attention back to the florist as she giggled, muffled behind the edge of her fingers. She pushed her glasses back up, glancing between them as she stood taller.

“Flowers for a birthday, _¡Qué maravilloso!_ ” Her hands clapped as she pressed them together in front of her chest, smiling broadly and voice brimming with delight.

Felipe instinctively pressed closer to Oscar, shoulder pressing against his, as the florist stepped around the counter, making her way toward the roses on display by the window. Oscar watched the fake flowers in her hair bounce a touch with her quick steps. The back of her head was a bursting bundle of  yellow, red, white and pink. He could only make out touches of hair underneath the petals, hinting at the idea her hair might be braided at the back, but he honestly couldn’t be sure.  
At first glance, it was obvious she at least liked flowers...

“So, roses, _sí_? Did you have an idea on sizing?”

The twins glanced between one another, Oscar reached up to twirl his moustache as he thought.

“I suppose all we really need is…?”

“A medium sized bouquet?” Felipe finishes. He shrugs toward the florist. “How, uh…?”  
  
“How big would that be?” Oscar asked.  
  
“Oh! Medium sized…” She trailed off a little as she turned and walked back behind the desk, bending down briefly out of view with a hum and coming back up with a decently sized bundle of flowers, various species arranged together. “Well, this is medium arrangement on hold for another customer so, this would be around the same size. Is that all right?”

“That’s nice.” Felipe nodded, looking toward Oscar who nodded approvingly. The arrangement was put back out of view and she was by the roses once again, steps dainty and quick.

“When’s the birthday date?” She asks casually, as she brushes her fingers against petals and picks out various red, yellow and pink roses.

Oscar grimaced a little, watching as Felipe mirrored his expression when they caught each other’s eyes.

“Tomorrow.” Oscar mumbled, looking back toward the florist who blinked at him, appearing taken back.

“Ah.” Her voice deadpanned a touch. Oscar didn’t need to look at Felipe to know he was sharing the same amount of embarrassment. Words built in his throat as he wanted to defend himself, because of course they’d never forget a family member's birthday! They were just… Well-  
  
“Well, flowers are always a lovely gift.” The florist offered. Oscar blinked at her as she turned to face them. “I mean, the closer you get them to the date, the nicer they look.” She paused, smile dropping a touch, and blinked. “I mean, they're not real here so they don’t wilt but… You know, plastic can get dirty and sometimes the colours fade? The paper ones tear a lot as well, actually. So I suppose the same logic applies…?”  
  
She tapped her chin, in thought, her words mumbling as she trailed off. Her gaze snapped back to them as though they had suddenly appeared, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. With a short, nervous laugh, she shrugged helplessly and quickly turned back to the roses, head ducking a touch more than before.

She seemed to hurry in picking out the necessary amount of roses needed for the arrangement, pausing every other second to glance over the ones in her grasp.  
Oscar and Felipe stood awkwardly by, uncertain of what to do with themselves. Felipe’s fingers gently tapped out a rhythm against his leg as Oscar shift the bag he was holding, metal rattling deep with in it.  
The florist briefly glanced back toward them at the sound, gaze flickering to the bag for a brief moment before she turned back to the flowers.  
She stopped, holding out the roses bundled in her hands and inspecting them. She looked at them, brows knitted in focus. She smiled, satisfied and turned to them with the flower arrangement.  
  
“Okay, so we’ve got yellow, red and pink- ” She paused, fingers pinching stems and moving them about tenderly. “- and a medium sized bouquet for a birthday!” She smiled up toward them, holding up the flowers a touch for the twins to see.  
  
“If this is all good with you two I can get these wrapped up right away?”  
  
Felipe’s shoulder pressed into Oscar’s as they both looked over the bouquet. Of course, neither of them were florists (quite frankly, they’d never had good fortune with plant handling in the living world.) but the arrangement looked neat and pretty. Perfect for a gift.  
The twins shared a quick smile, before turning back to the florist.  
Oscar nodded.  
“It looks great.” He said, Felipe’s own voice joining in perfect sync.

She was back behind the counter in a moment, gingerly placing the roses onto the white counter.  
Oscar and Felipe walked closer to the front of the counter. Felipe looked just below it at the small, empty ceramic pots and glass vases lined along behind the glass of the counter, eyes skimming the prices as Oscar watches the woman quietly. There’s a clatter as she opens a draw behind the desk.

“Are these handmade?”

Felipe breaks the quiet, and the florist blinks up in the middle of her search. “Hm?” she hums questioningly, head tilting a little.  
  
Felipe asks again and she glances down toward where he’s looking.

“The vases are brought in.” She explains, “But everything ceramic is handmade.”

“Just by you?” Oscar adds, somewhat nonplussed.

She glances toward the wall, smiling shyly.

“I have family and friends who help.”  
  
“Ah…” Felipe nods, still looking over the various pots. The florist ducks her head as she coughs briefly before going back to her search, eyes averted as she speaks again.

“Is there any specific colour you’d like for the ribbon?”  
  
Oscar blinked and Felipe straightened himself out next to the other, clearing his throat.

“I guess… Ah..”  
  
Both looked toward each other, equally stumped and uncertain.

“Um… What would-?”

“-You recommend?”

She was pulling the flowers into a golden wrapping, shifting roses gently as she hummed with thought.

“White.” She considered the roses carefully. “There’s plenty of colour already, it would make a lovely contrast.”

“White is fine, then.” Felipe said. Oscar nod.

As she gathered the flowers into the wrapping, securing the whole thing with a bow, Oscar glanced down at the pots and vases, their prices labelled in small tags in front of them.  
He nudged his brother to get his attention and directed a hand vaguely in the direction of white coloured pot, with subtle swirls of gold painted onto it, big enough to hold the roses.  
Felipe spotted what his brother was directing to and raised a brow at Oscar, who smiled a little in return.

Felipe nodded knowingly as the woman muttered “There.”, proudly securing the bow.

“Excuse me -” Oscar interjected as she lifted the bouquet.

“Could we-”

“-also buy a pot? For-”

“-The flowers?” She glanced between them as they spoke, and Oscar was somewhat surprised at how she seemed unfazed by how perfectly they could continue and finish the others sentences.

Most people outside of the family found it odd and distracting.

“ _Sí_ , of course. Is there anything there you’d like, specifically?”

“The white one-”

“-With the golden swirls-”

“-Near the front left, _Por favor_.” She delicately pulled the pot out, setting it down on the counter.

“Is that one you made?” Oscar found himself asking as he glanced over the golden swirls. A quick glance at the woman’s face and his eyes were drawn to the colour of her markings, laces of golden yellow and fuchsia.

She smiled fondly as she placed the flowers into the vase, adjusting the ribbon and flowers with gentle touches.

“ _Mi primo_ made it, actually. Such a creative boy.” She gushes, smiling proudly.

“It’s very well-made. He should be proud of his work” Oscar nods, feeling his mouth tug into a smile at the corner.  
  
The florist titters, fingertips covering her mouth. She beams at Oscar.  
  
“I’ll be sure to let him know that, _Gracias_.”

The necessary money was exchanged and Oscar’s fingers curled around the base and side of the pot, accidentally brushing past the woman’s fingers as she focused on making sure the pot and flowers wouldn’t fall.

Oscar swallows, unable to not glance over her skull patterns once again. The small, nearly invisible flowers that were dotted across her chin that he wasn’t sure he’d ever notice at a quick glance. The bloom of yellow around her sockets. He thought he caught a glimpse of colour behind her side swept fringe but he was already pulling away with the flowers before he could dwell on it.

“ _Gracias, señora_ -” He trails off, both nervous and unsure of whether to leave the sentence there. She waved her hand dismissively before pushing up her glasses again, smiling bashfully.

“Oh, just Leonor is fine.”

“Ah.. Leonor, then. _Gracias_ , Leonor.” Oscar nodded, stepping back and holding the flowers carefully close as Felipe adjusted the handle of the bag of supplies in his left grasp, heading toward the door.  

“ _De nada_ . I hope it’s a lovely birthday, _¡adiós!_ ”

They mumble their goodbyes as Felipe opens the door for Oscar and they both step out one after the other, leaving the bell to jingle as the door closes.

Leonor sighs and carefully brushes her hand against the clear counter. She watches the sunlight filtering through the window, casting soft shadows around the once again still shop.

She sways there for a moment, lost in thought. She blinks and startles, then hurries back through the door behind the counter, rouge skirt swaying with each step.

 

Oscar had been left with an odd, lingering feeling.

He and Felipe talked back and forth over everything and nothing at once as they continue down the streets, stepping in sync with one another, knowing they would have to face Imelda’s wrath if they stayed out longer and worried her.

As they marked out various plans on how to sneak the flowers past Rosita, Oscar quietly noted the surroundings, a small thought in the back of his mind wondering if he’d need to remember his way to the flower shop in the future.

He had doubts about that. There were probably flower shops much closer to where they lived. They just so happened to be closest to the one they went into today.

But still…  
The service had been good. It was a lovely little place, and keeping the shop in consideration wouldn’t be a bad thing, he supposed, as his thumb brushed past a stray leaf while he adjusted it more securely in his arms.

* * *

 

  
Felipe and Oscar both yelped as Rosita pulled them into a powerful hug. Felipe glanced over the flowers in the shorter woman’s hair to smile weakly at Oscar, who winced as he balanced the roses in his free hand. Felipe was almost sure one of his ribs had snapped, but it was worth seeing Rosita this happy.  
The joyful squeal emitting from Rosita as she jostled them was a sure confirmation.  
  
“Oh, you two!” She coos before releasing them.  
The two staggered back as her grip loosened, smiling through wheezing breaths. She gingerly took the potted roses from Oscar’s hands, admiring the careful crafting of a yellow rose.  
  
“They’re gorgeous! _Muchas Gracias_ .”  
  
Oscar and Felipe grinned, sharing another proud glance as they stood a little taller.

“We’re just glad-”  
“-You like them, Rosita.”

“Are they from _Dona Garcia’s floristería_ ?” Victoria asked, tilting her head to glance over the flowers, adjusting her glasses.

“Ah, no, actually.” Oscar scratched his chin, briefly glancing toward Felipe. “We found another shop-”  
  
“-A bit further up, actually.” Felipe caught Imelda raise one brow at them behind Rosita, pursing her lips ever so slightly. He glanced away, already sure she had caught onto how late they may have gotten the gift. Neither he nor Oscar really wanted to admit to such a thing.  
  
His sister didn’t say anything on the subject, and merely nodded approvingly at the plants as Rosita spoke.  
  
“They’ll look lovely on my window sill.” She set them down on the kitchen table and with another elated giggle pulled them back into a tight hug that somehow knocked the air out of their non existent lungs.

“Gracias, both of you!” As she pulled away she gently pat their cheeks and turned as Hector addressed her.  
  
The two men shared a relieved look with matching proud smiles.  
  
It wasn’t too much longer when the Rivera’s soon found themselves huddled in the living room. It wasn’t a spacious room, but the family was all able to comfortably fit together.  
  
“You’ll have to show me the floristería you got them from sometime.” Rosita addressed the twins as she sat next to Hector on the carpeted floor, a guitar with beautiful rose patterns printed onto it balanced in her lap.  
“We’ll be more than happy to.” Oscar nodded.  
  
“It would be a nice excuse for you to see the florist again.” Felipe muttered, low enough for Oscar to hear, who shot him a frown.  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
Felipe shrugged. “You seemed to like her.”  
  
“I don’t know her.”  
  
“A benefit of going back.” Felipe grinned. “You can talk to her more and get to know her.”  
  
Oscar rolled his eyes, shoving his elbow against his twin’s arm.  
  
“Are you sure you’re not looking for an excuse to go back and talk to her yourself?”  
  
Felipe went to counter when Imelda cleared her throat from her spot next to them on the sofa. She stitched into a small cushion she was fixing up. She didn’t look at them, but both dropped it. They didn’t need petty arguments on a relaxing day.  
They would occasionally just tease each other about such things, as expected. Felipe had only mentioned Oscar liking the florista just to get a small rise out of him. He wasn’t sure if anything could actually come out of being acquainted to her.  
  
He turned his attention back to the room.  
Rosita was gently strumming the guitar under Hector’s guide, occasionally reaching over to show where Rosita’s fingers were to go for a chord.  
Julio and Coco were seated together by the window. After settling in his seat, Julio had taken to reading through an old newspaper, which was now starting to slip from his fingers as he drifts into a small sleep.  
Coco glanced over at a slight snore, Victoria paused her part of the conversation, settled on the floor beside her Mama’s chair, leaning against the arm. The white haired woman smiled, tenderly reaching over to pull the paper from her husband’s hands and leave a kiss against his cheek. Julio’s mustache lifted a touch as Coco pulled away, eyes still closed.  
“What were you saying, mija?” Coco asked as she turned back to Victoria and fold the paper up in her lap. Victoria continued to talk about the book she had open in front of her, only playfully rolling her eyes at her parents.  
  
Felipe reached forward, grabbing one of the two glasses up from the coffee table in front of them. As he sat back up he tilt the empty glass, eyeing it for a moment before standing and making his way to the doorway, stepping over Oscar’s legs as he went.  
  
He shuffled into the kitchen, soft sound of conversation and guitar strums quieting a touch as he found himself in the surprisingly still room. It wasn't often that no one was in at least one room, but birthdays often had the family together in the front room, so it wasn’t too surprising. The quiet was only just a touch jarring. It wasn’t too early or too late, but the street outside the Rivera’s home wasn’t a loud one that bustled too much, especially on Saturday. Felipe made his way over to the sink, filling the glass with water. He shut the tap off, looking out the window for a moment and out toward the street, gaze not focused on anything in particular.  
  
A thud against the window nearly sent the glass in his hands over his head.  
  
Felipe fumbled with the cup as water splashed over his arm and against his front. He huffed, glancing down in annoyance before snapping his attention back toward the window at a small scratching noise on the glass.  
  
He squints against the glare of light, placing the cup down into the sink and leaning forward a touch to see what was making the noise.  
  
A shimmer of turquoise suddenly wriggled over his head, slipping in through the open part of the window and shooting past his head, sunlight bouncing off coloured scales.  
Felipe ducked with a quick yell, clasping at his hat.

After a short pause he rose, peeking over toward the top of the kitchen table.

Felipe stared, wide-eyed.  
It peered back, navy blue eyes unblinking.

An alebrije.  
Small, roughly the size of his hand sat there. Something akin to a gecko and a chameleon, rounded spikes trailed down the back of its head and neck. It lay there as though it belonged to the scene, it’s body slightly tilt up on its front legs, silvery dragonfly wings lowering and rising in sluggish movement, catching light in fractured patterns.

Felipe cringed as a yellow tongue suddenly rolled out and over it’s left, open eye before disappearing back into its mouth with a wet noise.

With wary movements Felipe stood with his bones rattling a little, and glanced around the kitchen, uncertain. Of all the times for the kitchen to be devoid of anyone else, it had to be now, didn’t it?

He frowned, turning back to fully face the alebrije, hands close to his chest. It was tiny. Hardly a threat at all, it should be easy to shooed out, surely.  
He began approaching with careful, slow steps.  
  
He paused, stiffening when the alebrije’s wings gave a noticeable twitch.  
  
A moment passed, and the alebrije remained still.  
  
Felipe winced, but continued moving closer. He swallowed, leaning closer to the table and frowned at the small intruder, fully intending to shoo it back out with a hand wave and a stern voice.

He jumped back with a high scream when the alebrije was suddenly in the air, inches from his face, wings buzzing. He bumped back into a chair, nearly knocking it over on the way as the flying creature swept at his head and he ducked, arms up, to avoid the attack. He glanced up as the buzz faded, only to again see it twist in the air back towards him.

A slight weight lifted on his head and his hand reached up to push his hat back into place, only to flatten his palm onto his skull and hair. The sound of footsteps approaching elsewhere in the house was briefly lost on him, and Felipe gawked at the sight of his hat hovering near the window, rim caught in the maw of the alebrije.

“¿ _Que?_ No! No, no wait!” He scrambled to his feet, lunging himself toward the flying creature.  
His palms slammed against the open window, pushing it closed as the tip of alebrije’s tail disappeared.  
  
Felipe stared for a moment, bewildered, trying to process exactly what had just happened as he pressed his palms down against the sink’s edge as someone bustled into the kitchen doorway, skirts rustling loudly.  
He blinked, watching as the alebrije hovered just above the street, not far from the house. It seemed only just able to hold up the hat, and it wasn’t moving as fast as it had been.  
Maybe if he was quick, he could-?  
  
“Felipe?! ¿Qué estás haciendo-?” Imelda just about avoided Felipe’s mad scamper past her as he ran for the front doorway, pausing to shove his shoes on.  
“I’ll explain in a bit! I need to go!”  
  
Imelda gaped at him, watching as he flung the front door open and dashed out, leaving it to slowly swing close. Oscar approached out of the living room doorway, frowning. He watched the front door gently hit the doorway and slowly open again, before turning to Imelda who frowned at the empty space, stunned beyond words.  
  
“I… What happened?” He asked quietly.  
  
Imelda shook her head, sighing in exasperation.  
  
Felipe winced as he pushed further down the street.  
Everything felt odd! He was usually faster than this, and he knew it, but every beat of his shoes hitting the ground felt wrong.  
His shoes felt too tight, and that in itself was wrong. He’d been wearing these shoes for years. They fit him perfectly and they always had, just like any Rivera made shoe!  
But checking them was out of the question when he couldn’t lose sight of the alebrije further down the street.  
Thinking even more he realised how silly it all was. It was a hat! Was it worth chasing a small alebrije over?  
The creature slowed nearer the end of the street, the burst of energy suddenly rushing out and leaving him to leap on his long legs.  
Hardly anyone else was about on the street, which he was grateful for. He could at least be spared the embarrassment of too many people watching him chase an alebrije.  
He came to a pause, when he finally noticed a woman walking up the street. Hands buried in the pockets of her leather jacket, she glanced at the buildings, not paying any mind to the street ahead of her.  
Felipe watched, a wave of dread washing over him when the alebrije suddenly swooped, flinging the hat against the woman’s skull. She yelled out a muffled curse, hands fumbling out of her pockets to grab the hat. Felipe swallowed, pushing himself back into a run that bridged the distance down the street, slowing as he approached the woman.  
She gripped the rim of his hat in her skeletal fingers and tugged it from her face with a gasp and a furious head shake.

“¡Ay!” She breathed heavily. She glanced to her left, brows furrowing into a glare as they settled on the creature hovering in the air beside her, the buzz of it’s wings reaching Felipe’s nonexistent ears over his own heavy breaths.

“ _¡Dios mío, Lupe!_ ” She cried, cradling the hat in her hands as she lowered it away from her face.  
Felipe approached, head low and hands clasped together, unnoticed by the short woman. “What do you think you’re-?”  
  
“Um…” Felipe cleared his throat, trying to rid the nervousness suddenly rooted there. His neck felt tight, despite the lack of muscles, when she glanced up at him. Her scowl was gone in a blink, a surprised and slightly confused gaze taking its place.  
  
A wavy piece of her short, dark brown hair curled and fell slightly over the right side of her skull, nearly covering her the eye on that side. He could see her bones tense together under the open black jacket and off-shoulder blue dress, moving to grip the hat by the rim closer to her chest again.

She gave him a glance over from his feet to his head. She glanced down at the hat, then back toward him.  
A nervous smile lifted the dark blue heart dotted on the left of her mouth, and she held the hat out toward him.

“Let me guess. Is this yours?” Her voice wavered with a hint of uncertainty near the end.

Felipe smiled nervously, nodding a little. “ _Sí, sí_ , It is. Um… _Gracias_.” He managed out. He reached to carefully take the hat from her.

Her bones visibly separated as she sighed, shoulders lowering. Lupe plopped itself down onto her shoulder, claws settling into the leather with a rubbery noise. She side-eyed the alebrije with a huff and bounced her shoulder, the lizard let out a ‘meep’ of agitation.

“ _Lo siento, señor_.” She looked up at him sincerely, and Felipe clutched his hat against his chest a little tighter, nerves starting to creep back into his chest as he suddenly felt lost at what to do with himself, and trying to not stare too much at the woman, alternating between her and the alebrije.

“This little nuisance -” She didn’t try to cover the fondness in her voice, “- does things like this sometimes… Comes back with whatever she can carry.” She reached over and scratched a finger under Lupe’s chin before smiling over apologetically.  
“She wasn’t giving you too much trouble was she?”

“I- Ah- No.” Felipe stammered and shook his head. “Not- Not too long actually.” He let out a nervous chuckle, head ducking as his eyes flickered to the floor, then back to her. “She only just… Took my hat? Um...” He trailed off, looking over her face again.  
Felipe was almost sure he’d at the very least seen her before. Certain he’d seen the same tufts of curls, the same off shoulder dress. He really couldn’t say for sure though.

“Do I know you?” He blurted out, skull warming as she tilts her head at him. “I mean… I feel like I've seen you before?”  
Her gaze pierced him for a moment. Her gaze flickered from his skull to his chest before she shook her head.  
“You don’t know me, no. I do walk this way sometimes. You might have seen me passing by?” She offers with a shrug.  
  
“Ah, sí, perhaps...” Felipe’s fingers dig a little further into the rim of his hat, tugging at the fabric as the woman shift on her feet. She stands a little taller, her hands raising to rest on her hips.  
  
“Really, I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am. On her behalf, of course.” The alebrije chirped, a suddenly climbed up into the woman’s hair. “Either way,” She huffs, blowing away a stand of hair curling over her face and frowning when it only shift by a touch, “I’m sorry about my alebrije’s intrusion.” She motions toward his hat. “And the whole… Hat thing…”  
  
Felipe huffs a small laugh, nervously drumming his fingers against the hat’s rim clutched to his chest.

“It’s alright… I’m sorry you had to get hit in the face with my hat.”  
She snorted, covering her cheek with one hand with a grin.  
  
“Well, I wasn’t expecting that to happen today, that’s for sure.” She laughed.  
  
“I suppose it would be odd if hats falling on you was a common occurrence.” Felipe smiled, his shoulders loosening further when she giggled.  
  
“It wouldn’t be too odd. Not if we’re considering this little trouble, here.” She reached up and gently scratched Lupe’s head. The alebrije let out a confused chirp, head lifting from the woman’s curls.  
She lowered her hand and began to move, walking around him. Felipe turned, blinking as he fixed his hat back onto his head in a fumbled movement.  
“Are - Uh- Are you heading up that way?”  
  
“Mm-hm.” She smiled back at him. “I’m gonna guess your going this way too?”  
  
“Oh, Sí. I am. You don’t mind if I walk along with you, do you?”  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t mind. I mean, If I really didn’t want you to, you’d know.”  
He tilts his head. “What do you mean?”  
She smirked. “You can’t walk far on broken legs, you know?”  
Felipe felt himself pale a touch, a small knot of fear twisting in the base of his ribcage. He eyed the leather jacket, before his gaze flickered back to her face. Her expression softened and she laughed, holding her hands up.  
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding. You seem like a nice enough guy. I’d just tell you to get lost.”  
“Ah.” His arms lowered back to his sides, and he let out a small, relieved laugh. “Right.”  
A thought then occurred. Even if they were only walking a short distance, wouldn't it be polite to at least be on a first name basis?  
“I’m- I’m Felipe.” He held out a hand. Her gaze flickered briefly between his hand and face, looking a little taken aback. Felipe faltered for a moment, uncertain. She reached forward and took his hand, shaking it heartily.  
“Valeria. Nice to meet you, Felipe.” She nods her head, the alebrije chirping irritably at the movement. “You’ve met Lupe.”  
  
He chuckled. “So I have.”  
  
As they began to walk the discomfort in his feet returned. It must have shown. Valeria glanced over toward him, gaze flickering to his feet then back to his face. “Um… You alright?” She asked. “You’re looking a little wobbly.”  
  
“Ah, sí. My feet just feel odd, for some reason?”  
  
“Yeah? Is it your shoes or something?”

“I doubt it.” Felipe rolled his shoulders back, huffing. “I mean… They’ve always been a perfect fit but... They’ve never felt so uncomfortable.”  
  
“Hmm…” Valeria let out a small noise, something akin to a snicker. “It… Might be because they’re on the wrong feet.”  
  
“I… _¿Qué?_ ” He looked down, really looking at his feet for the first time. Sure enough, his shoes really were on the wrong feet. No wonder he’d been having trouble running in them earlier.  
Valeria snort, fist coming up as she coughed to hide it, amusement practically glowing from her skull. “Uh, yeah. I kind of noticed earlier. There wasn’t a good time to say anything, though.” She shrugged. “Wasn’t sure if it was by choice either?”  
  
Felipe frowned. “Who’d wear the wrong shoes on the wrong feet by choice?”  
Valeria held her hands up. “Hey, I ain’t here to judge. I mean… It’s weird and I would judge a bit, but i’m not gonna say anything.” She paused. “You... Wanna take a pause and get your shoes sorted? It doesn’t look comfy.”  
  
“I’d… Appreciate that.”

* * *

 

“Does anyone recognise her?” Hector spoke up, voice hushed with confusion.  
  
Most of the Rivera’s were now huddled in the kitchen, trying to discreetly peer out of the window. Victoria stood by the table, arms folded as she watched Hector, Oscar, Rosita and Coco huddled closest to the window. They weren't trying to be seen, but she didn’t see the point in hiding, especially when they weren't doing a good job at it. Her mama was a bit more central in the window, arms resting on the sink’s edge, Rosita huddled next to her, giddy as her hands were clasped together against her cheekbone. Victoria could almost feel her Tía beaming as she watched Tío Felipe talking to a woman outside.  
  
They had progressively moved into the kitchen after Imelda came into the living room, clearly exasperated and muttering about Felipe disappearing with Oscar trailing behind her, his hands clasped nervously behind his back.  
  
“He’d better explain himself once he returns.” Imelda said after informing the family she would wait in the kitchen for her younger brother to return, an edge of threat in her tone. Everyone knew it was more out of concern than actual anger though.  
Oscar and Imelda had returned to the kitchen to wait, and eventually the rest of the family had found themselves filtering into the kitchen along with them. Victoria had been one of the last in the living room, neatly putting away her book before taking her time to enter the kitchen. Everyone had mostly huddled around the kitchen in discussion as she slipped past, glancing out the window.  
She had paused, leaning as she squint to look out the window. She remained there for a second before fixing her glasses, speaking evenly as she continued to watch out the window.  
  
“It looks like tío Felipe’s walking with someone.”  
  
The chatter behind her came to a halt.  
  
“Someone?” Oscar asked slowly, getting up from his place at the table to stand by the window, hands resting behind his back.  
Victoria hummed, watching as the two figures had approached further up the road. By the time they stopped short of the house’s front gate, the rest of the family had found themselves at the window to look at what was happening. Victoria had stepped back, closer to Mama Imelda.  
It was around then Hector piped in with his question.  
A few glances were thrown toward Oscar, who was watching out the window. After a moment he turned, catching a glimpse of the stares pointed his way. He shrugged.  
  
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before.”  
  
“Tío Felipe’s never… Mentioned anyone?” Rosita asks. There’s a hint of hopefulness laced in her tone.  
Oscar looked back out the window as the woman in front of his brother laughed, loud enough that the sound just reached through the closed window, her eyes closed in mirth. Oscar caught a glimpse of something colourful resting on her shoulder, a bright contrast against the leather jacket.  
He shook his head. “No. Not really.”  
  
“He might have just met her.” Coco offered. “It looks like they’re having fun.”  
The woman gently bumped her elbow against Felipe’s, grinning as she spoke. Felipe seemed to chuckle, eyes closed with mirth.  
Rosita hummed, contemplative  
  
“Aye, would you all get away from the window, already?” Imelda sighed, waving a shooing motion at Oscar and Hector as the women stepped back from the window. She glanced out the window herself, head tilt up a touch as the woman outside gently punched Felipe’s arm as she began moving past him, grinning broadly. Felipe smiled, head ducking as he held his hat against his chest. As she walked on up the road his gaze trailed after her for a moment. He shoved his hat back onto his head and moved to open the small gate, a small smile still lifted on his mouth.  
Imelda blinked when she realised Oscar and Hector were glancing over her shoulders, close enough that they were practically hovering over her, watching.  
  
She waved them off irritably.  
  
“I told you to stop it!”  
  
“You were doing the same thing!” Oscar countered.  
  
“Irrelevant. I’m going to talk to Felipe.”  
  
Oscar rolled his eyes, arms folded, as Imelda strode toward the kitchen doorway, the sound of the front door creaking open.  


* * *

  
  
_  
_ Valeria smiled, huffing a bit, as she looked back down the street toward Felipe. He was closing the gate behind him as his glances up, catching her eye. She grins when his head ducks in embarrassment, and shuffles down the path toward the front door. She turns back, continuing to walk on. Her alebrije shifts on her shoulder, claws scratching against leather.  
  
“That was terrible of you, Lupe.” She tuts under her breath. The alebrije chirps tiredly in response.  
Valeria shakes her head, pausing to look at the lizard creature. “You’re una pequeña diabla, you know that right?”  
  
Lupe yawned, body stretching then curling back up, face burrowing into the lapels of the jacket. A small, delighted noise rose behind her closed mouth. She quickly scoffed, rolling her eyes as she continued to walk.  
  
At the end of the street the rest of the route was automatic to her. Walk past her favourite _cantina_ , a quick jog to catch a departing train trolley and she found herself bumping elbows and shuffling between the slightly crowded vehicle to stand at the open back, arms folded and leaning against the rail as it lifts from it’s platform and into the sky. Lupe was well awake at this point, and reemerged from a hidden pocket inside the jacket she had moved into before they boarded.  
  
Valeria let out a sharp huff, shifting irritably on her feet. She glared down at her shoes, willing them to stop pinching against her bones. It was stupid. There’s no skin to irritate anymore, no muscle to get sore. So the fact that her feet were both sore and uncomfortable was stupid.  
They weren't even her favourite shoes. They had too much of a heel, and she’d never mastered running in heeled shoes really.  
  
Her favourite shoes had been built to be run in, and she’d ended up running them from the living world into this. It was only last year that they’d become way too threadbare to wear anymore.  
They’d lasted a long time at least, but still…  
  
“Think I might need some new shoes soon, Lupe.” She muttered.  
Lupe scampered down her shoulder and onto the railing.  
  
Valeria winced, and placed a skeletal hand over the small alebrije before pulling her hand back to fold her arms.  
  
She glanced about, a few structures starting to knit closer together. Some rooftops and ledges passed close by, and Valeria felt a twitch in her shoulders. The trolley rides were nice, but there was always the urge to leap out and onto any ledges that passed by. She wasn't going to do that when she had somewhere to be, but the urge itched in the back of her mind. She’d look at the drop and her stomach would sink, almost to a sickening feeling. That’s when she’d want to go, channel it into an adrenaline rush.  
  
She stood, making her way back into the trolley with her hands shoved into her pockets to prepare for her stop and Lupe flung herself onto the woman's back, scampering into the jacket through the back of the neck. She was thankful it was her stop soon. Despite the excited energy bundling deep in her chest, she wasn’t in the mood to be free diving off trolley. Or getting banned from specific trolleys for jumping out of them.  
  
She’ll just find some trees to climb up tomorrow.

* * *

 

Leonor flipped the sign on the window around to CLOSED. She went to open the shop door, before pausing. Her hand hovered close to the handle for a moment before she swung around and stepped across the room, moving behind the front desk.  
She muttered to herself as she flipped through ribbons, papers and nick-knacks that didn’t really belong there, but she had yet to really place them somewhere appropriate. At the very least she knew where they were, so what was the harm?  
  
Her hand paused over the roll of white ribbon left over from yesterday. She sighed, sincerely hoping whoever received those roses enjoyed them. Nothing made her happier than thinking about how something as simple and sweet as flora could make a person's day.  
In life, her family home had always smelled of _pan dulce_ , sweet and warm. It was to be expected from a baker's family.  
But the smell of the garden? The fresh crispness of the air, the calm stillness away from the busy bustle inside the home. The day she had properly grown sunflowers was the day she knew she had to be a _florista_. Maybe not an amazing achievement, but a big one to her nonetheless.   
  
She didn’t miss the difference the Land of the Dead gardens and parks had to the living counterparts. The living worlds fresh openness was something she found herself missing dearly, especially in such a bustling city structure...

A flighty knock sounded from the door and Leonor glanced toward it, confused and slightly irritated.

She flipped the sign to CLOSED, right? So why would anyone think-?

She caught sight of the skull peering through the window. The figure grinned and waved enthusiastically as their eyes locked.

A relieved sigh escaped Leonor and she motioned for the figure to enter, then turned her attention back to sorting the mess in the draws.

As soon as there was a gap in the doorway, a small lizard-like alebrije zoomed in, swiftly twisting in the air and plopping itself onto the unruffled florist’s head, tail whipping back and forth happily.

Leonor giggled and reached up to scratch a finger under the alebrije’s chin as a short woman with dark brown curls in a blue, off-shoulder dress scoffed in annoyance at the creature exclaimed a short, “Lupe!” as she settled on Leonor’s head.

The woman let the door close behind her, hands going back into the leather jackets pockets. Leonor smiled at her warmly.

“ _Hola_ , Valeria. How was your day?”

The shorter woman, Valeria, groaned, rolling her eyes and dragging herself over to the desk.

“Tiring.” She drawled as she pressed her back against the desk, elbows resting on it. “José still can’t catch a hint.”  
  
Leonor winced. “Still?”  
  
Valeria shrugged. “He’s not creepy or anything. It’s just… I don’t know, he’s dropping too many one-liners for me to think he’s joking now. But he’s not being direct either.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe I can just tip-toe around this until… I dunno, he finds someone else?”  
  
“That might be hard, given you’re on the same Course.” Leonor observed, the corners of her mouth turning a little when Valeria heaved a sigh out between her teeth, leaning further against the desk.  
  
“I know…” She drawled, sinking further against the wooden surface. “Then again, we won’t be on the same course forever.” She paused. “I mean, I hope not anyway.”  
Leonor hummed in response. Valeria grunt, pushing herself up and resting her elbows on the surface. “But anyway. How was your day, _amiga_ ?”  
  
Leonor closed the draw, and brushed her hands down against the front of her green apron.  
“Uneventful really. I briefly saw Paola in the morning, but you know what she’s like. Pet and fed and she’s off who-knows-where.”  
  
“Yup, sounds like Paola.” Valeria nod, thoughtful  
  
“Is that common in Alebrije?” Leonor asked.  
  
Valeria shrugged. “I dunno.” She replied plainly. The taller woman tut, crossing her arms.  
  
“Valeria, your studying Alebrije care. Surely behaviour’s come up at some point?”  
  
“I can’t remember at the moment.” Valeria smirked. “I’m not obligated to remember things right now.”  
  
“Hm. Well, other than that, a few regulars, a few new faces. Nothing truly notable. I think I missed a call from Tía Graciela, so I’d best leave her a message when I can.” Her voice trailer into a mumble near the end of her sentence as she pushed her glasses up a touch.  
  
“You gonna be looking after Silvio sometime this week?”  
“Sí, I think that’s what she wanted to discuss.”  
  
Valeria stood, walking toward and hanging plant and flicking one of the leaves nonchalantly. “He’s a nice kid.”  
  
“ _Sí_ he - Val, don’t do that - He is.” She strode forward and gently slapped the shorter woman’s hand away from the plant. Valeria grinned, hopping out of Leonor’s way as she continued over toward the plants on the other side of the room. Valeria watched as Lupe chirped, and fluttered down onto Leonor’s shoulder.  
Leonor cooed a quiet greeting and scratched a finger under the lizards chin. Lupe’s eyes squinted as she lifted her head up ever so slightly, emitting a high, twittering purr.  
  
“Don’t praise her too much.” valeria warned, a playful scowl on her face. “ _Señorita_ trouble here has been out and stealing again.”

Leonor gasped theatrically, tilting her head and glaring disappointingly toward where the alebrije jolted, disturbed by the sudden movement. “Lupe!” She scolded playfully. Valeria snorted as Lupe’s glassy wings fluttered.

“Yup… I thought a nice walk on a path I don’t usually go would be a nice end to the day. And you know how she was this morning, she wouldn't leave me alone for one second when I was trying to get ready, so I figure ‘hey, maybe she just needs to stretch her wings?’” Valeria said, shifting on her feet as her hands motion wildly.  
  
Leonor adjusted some plants on the shelves nodding. “ _Bien, bien_ …” She mumbled in reply.

“That’s all fine, she’s lovely and quiet for the whole day. Then the walk back comes up and before I know it! _Zoop!_ ” Valeria’s fingers snapped across her face, “-She’s off, and then I suddenly have some guys hat thrown in my face!”

“ _¡Oh, dios!_ ” Leonor pulls herself away from the plants, placing a hand to her cheek, a small smile lifting on her skull. Lupe, upset by the movement, launched herself into the air, snuggling herself between two yellow potted plants, her colours shifting in small swirls before mixing into colours identical to her surroundings, beady eyes blinking slowly. Leonor fixed her disturbed hair as Valeria crossed her arms.

“Right? He seemed pretty cool over the whole thing though.” She shrugged, turning her face away a little. “You should’ve seen him, Leonor. He looked like such a _nerd._ Complete dork.”  
  
Leonor slowly faced her friend, a brow raising high as her mouth pursed. She held her gaze on Valeria for a moment. Valeria shift awkwardly under the look. Her head ducked and she muttered. “He was, uh… _Lindo_.”

Leonor beamed, smile widening.

“Oh, really?”  
Valeria huffed, fists shoved unceremoniously deep into her pockets as she kicked the floor a bit, expression flustered.

“Look, I thought so, okay?” She shrugged. “He was cute and tall, and he had big, nerd glasses.” She shot a playful glare Leonor’s way. “There, that’s all out the way, and we never have to talk about it again.”

Leonor sighed, glancing at her friend over her glasses as she pushed them up, with a brow raised knowingly. “Whatever you say, Vally.”

Valeria huffed. “Anyways, are you nearly done? I’m gonna head upstairs soon, I’m hungry.”

“Oh, I’m just closing up now,” Leonor fumbled with the green aprons tie. “I just need to get this away and lock up.”  
  
“Hmm.. Hey, do you have some of that cake you made yesterday left over?”  
  
Leonor sighed, shaking her head with a gentle smile. “If you haven't finished it, then there should be some left.”  
  
“ _Qué Padre._ ”  
  
As the two women converse as Leonor checks over the plants and desk one last time, Lupe shifted in her spot, wings flickering gently as her gaze moved from Valeria, to the window.

A white, pink-polka dotted tongue slapped against one of her eyes before sliding back into place.


	2. Lilac

 

“Explain.”  
  
Felipe jumped, reeling around. He’d only just closed the door behind him as his older sister stomped into view, before stopping in front of him with her fists on her hips. He noted that she was well within boot-hitting range, the stern glare made him shrink back further, hands raised defensively.  
  
“I, uh, What?” Was all he could work out, caught off guard. A few shadows moved by the kitchen doorway, but he couldn’t risk taking his eyes off his sister when she could have her boot off quicker than he could dodge.  
  
Imelda’s brows furrowed further. 

“You just ran out the door!” An arm lift to gesture toward the front door behind him, swinging back down to her hip just as fast, “Do you have any idea how worried I was? You can’t just scare us like that!”  
  
Felipe blinked down at her, body leaned back close to the door. He straightened out with another blink, realisation flashing across his skull.  
  
“Oh!” He paused, seeming to sink into himself. “Oh…” He repeated slowly as he rubbed his left arm. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I, uh, wasn’t gone that long, was I?”  
  
Imelda shift her weight, head held high “No, but I’d like an answer, _por favor_ _._ ”  
  
“I said I'd _‘be right back’_ , didn’t I?”  
  
“Felipe.” Imelda ground out. The few threads of patience she’d been holding onto were thinning, worn down with worry and threatening to snap in the gravel of her voice.  
  
“Okay!” He placated quickly, “Okay, it wasn’t-! I mean, I just panicked and- I didn’t think-” Imelda’s boot tapping against the wooden floor drowned out the panic. Sucking in a deep breath, he steeled himself. His shoulders slumped as he breathed out, and forced his gaze to make contact with Imelda’s fiery one. “I just… An alebrije got into the kitchen and… Stole my hat.”  
  
Her gaze softened quickly, coming undone with disbelief. She squint, and Felipe was hit with the full force of a silent interrogation. One that he and Oscar had always been subjected to as children. Under their mama’s order, she was in charge of them, so she would always be suspicious when they had something to hide from her (because they _always_ did, in her eyes). It wasn’t even an old memory, she had continued this well into their adult years, unravelling what she called ‘harebrained schemes’ and ‘childish mischief’ whenever it vaguely made itself known.

But when he didn’t squirm under her gaze, didn’t curl and uncurl his fists at his side, when those tells didn’t appear, she shift again.

She stared, jaw working quietly as she turned his explanation over in her head.. “An alebrije…” She began, slow.  
  
“Stole my hat, _sí_ .” Felipe breathed out in an exasperated sigh. “I ran out after it since it wasn’t flying that high, and I thought I could catch it?”  
  
There was a pregnant pause, filled with silence. Even the figures in the doorway had fallen still.  
  
Imelda’s gaze remained firmly neutral. “...You ran out after an alebrije.”  
  
Felipe threw up his hands. “I panicked! I didn’t know what to do!”  
  
She pinched the space between her sockets, exhaling a slow, tired sigh. A snicker caught Felipe’s attention toward the kitchen doorway as the rest of the Rivera’s filtered into the hallway. Julio gave him a sympathetic wince before heading toward the living room.  
There was some relief to think the whole family wasn’t going to hound him, but it was squashed as Oscar leaned further into the room with Hector shouldering his way next to him, seemingly a tad eager.  
  
“Who was the woman?”  
  
Felipe blinked at him, stunned. “The… Woman?”  
  
“Outside just now.” Victoria offered as she stepped around her tío and abuelo, making her way back down the hallway and toward the living room, pausing to offer, “You were talking to a woman with an alebrije.” before following after Julio, leaving Felipe’s face flushed, his markings lighting up furiously. 

Rosita nearly squealed behind his fists, balled against her growing, excited smile. His eyes quickly snapped to trail along the wall.  
  
“I-” He paused. “That was her alebrije. It… She had my hat thrown in her face and…”. And apparently that needed an apology that lasted long enough for the family to wonder where he was? The more he thought back on the situation as a whole the more he wanted to lock himself away in the  basement.  
  
“ _Dios mío..._ ” Imelda muttered under her breath, rubbing a hand against her temple as Oscar and Hector laughed.  
  
“Well, that’s one way to meet someone.” Hector chuckled, resting his palms on his knees as Oscar leaned against Hector, covering his mouth to suppress his own laughter.  
  
“It’s not that funny.” Felipe scowled.  
  
“ _Hermano_ , you’re not going to find _una novia_ throwing your hat at strangers.” Oscar grinned, crossing his arms.  
  
“I didn’t throw it!” Felipe threw up his arms, exasperated and flustered. His face flushed further as Oscar’s grin grew smugger. “And she’s NOT my girlfriend!” He added quickly, pointing.  
  
Rosita hovered near, Coco, clearly unable to resist hearing more. Coco had been happy to quietly watch her family with a warm smile, and felt small tinge of mischievousness flutter in her. She was far too old to be teasing Tío Felipe. However...  
She  shook her head at her Papá and Tío with a small tut, shuffling up to her Tío Felipe and reaching up to pat his arm.  
  
“It’s lovely that you met someone, Tío.” She offered.  
  
Felipe opened his mouth to rebuke her, but it quickly closed at the genuine smile. He’d never really been able to talk back to Coco, even when he and Oscar had been tasked with babysitting her as a little girl.  
  
“You should bring her over some time.” Rosita chimed in, voice brimming with excitement.  
  
“I don’t… We only spoke for at least ten minutes.”  
  
“You didn’t exactly rush in when you had to come back.” Oscar pointed out. “You two were outside for a few minutes.”  
  
Felipe shot him a look, huffing when he glanced about at all the eyes on him, the markings on his face glowing fiercely.  
  
“Well, I doubt I'll even see her again, so can we drop this, _por favor_ ?” He pleaded toward Imelda, who watched him. A hint of annoyance, but ultimately, he had just worried her with a silly thing and nothing more.  
  
She nodded.  
“Alright.” She decided. “Alright, we’ll leave this be for now.” She addressed the rest of the family. Rosita’s shoulders slumped with a disappointed hum.  
“But-” She began, but was silenced when Imelda held a hand up, cutting her off.  
  
“No, we’re done.” There was a sense of finality to her voice and Felipe nodded. He glanced toward his twin, who stared back at him. Oscar was trying to hold back a grin as his brow bone twitched, which Felipe knew meant Oscar was more than amused.  
  
“Aw, Imelda…” Hector began as she started to move past him. She pulled him down by his neckerchief and cut him off with a chaste kiss.  
  
“Come along, Hector.”  
  
The small smile she shot him over her shoulder was all that was needed to send Hector scampering after her as they travelled deeper into the house.  
  
Oscar and Felipe stood side by side in the hallway, the area falling into a comfortable quiet.  
“...Well.” Oscar began.  
  
“Well.” Felipe twist his head to look at Oscar.  
  
“I suppose if you did come across her again, inviting her over for dinner could make up for-”  
Oscar’s hat was knocked over his eyes as Felipe stomped toward the kitchen with a huff.  
  
“I don’t know her.” He stressed.  
  
“A benefit of inviting her when you get the chance, then.” Oscar lift his hat up, fixing it with a grin. “You can talk to her more and get to know her.”

 

* * *

 

 

Felipe remembered falling asleep easily the night before, the exhaustion of the day catching up to him.  
The events that had played out had slipped from his mind by the time his head hit his pillow, and the house fell into the usual, comfortable silence.  
A calm, uneventful night was just what he needed, even if he couldn’t immediately think of why he had needed it without stressing the thought too much.  
  
The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains into his and Oscar’s room, the light stretching across his skull first, Oscar’s bed on the other side of the room lay in a cool shadow. 

With sunlight falling over him Felipe shift, moving out of the fetal position he’d curled himself into during the night. His covers had been kicked off, crumpled down at the base of his bed, some of the sheets tangled around one of his legs. His eyelids were heavy when he tried to blink the sleep from them.

He pushed himself up, blinking bleary. His fingers pat against his bedside drawer, blindly reaching for the rim of his glasses.  
  
Felipe set them neatly on his skull, blinking into clearer vision and sitting up to stretch his arms above his head with a grunt. He huffed, letting his arms flop down across his lap and looking toward Oscar. His twin lay still under the covers, the minute movement of his chest rising and falling the only real movement. He wasn’t snoring so he wasn’t deep asleep, Felipe knew that.

"Hermano?"

There was quiet for a moment. Felipe frowned, leaning over his bed more.  
  
“Oscar?” He tried, a little louder than a stage whisper.  
  
Oscar groaned tiredly in response, rolling over under the covers.

"We need to get up."

His twin’s head poked out from the covers and he squinted at Felipe, irritated. "It's Sunday, _Hermano_."

Felipe blinked and squint tiredly. "Is it?"

Oscar sat up with a yawn. " _Sí, lo es_."

Felipe sat there for a moment, trying to recall the days leading up to the currant one and a look of realisation dawned.

"Ah. I suppose I thought yesterday was Sunday..."

Oscar hummed, nodding as he pushed the covers off of himself and sat on the edge of his bed, facing his twin.

"Well, I suppose we’re awake now" He mumbled a little irritated, rubbing his hand down the left side of his skull.  
  
“ _Sí_ , I suppose.” Felipe scratched his chin, wincing guiltily.  
  
Oscar grunt as he cracked his neck, sitting up properly in his bed. “So, _hermano_ .”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“What were we planning on working on today?”  
  
“Didn’t we want to finish fixing up that music box? We finally have all the pieces we need now.”  
  
“That’s true.” He paused thoughtfully. “Unless…”  
  
“Unless?”  
  
“I think Imelda was planning on visiting Ceci today. For a commission? That means we’d be able to go into the garage a bit more freely, _Sí_ ?”  
  
Felipe nodded slowly, a smile working across his skull. “ _Sí_ … After all, she never said we couldn’t-”  
  
“-Go in. She said ‘don’t do anything dangerous’, but-”  
  
“-She never said we couldn’t tinker with the delivery truck.”  
  
Oscar nodded, “True.”  
  
“Very true.”  
  
Both shared broad, devious grins.

Felipe adjusted his pillow against his now neatly made bed, as Oscar did the same. 

Both gathered their clothes and underwear from their respective draws, often looking for significant _'O'_ s and _'F'_ s to mark appropriate ownership. Even as children it had never seemed appropriate to wear each other's clothes, or even use each other's tools. Whether or not the objects or clothes were identical didn't matter to them. They enjoyed having their own things separate of each other.

The morning drawled together into a familiar routine, from dressing and to combing down their hair, which always seemed to curl and mess in the night. Most of their time time in the bathroom was spent quietly passing their respective combs, moustache wax and grooming utensils. While at the end of the day the smell of leather was always at least a little present on a Rivera, the twins had always found some independence in choosing different grooming products for their identical appearances.  
The time when the hair above Oscar’s lip had grown out before Felipe’s was… Odd. For the two of them at least. They were half grown and lanky, still mirror images of each other, but now there was a tell. It didn’t matter to Imelda, because she always knew. But it put their swap-around pranks on halt for quite a few months.  
Felipe had been elated when he finally caught up. Mainly since Oscar had been holding it over his head for a while. It felt silly thinking back on the hours he’d spent poking at the space under his nose with a glare, willing something to happen over night so things could settle back into some sort of familiarity.  
  
Ready to face the day, the two made their way down the hall to the stairway.  
Oscar's fingertips brushed against the wall as they trod down, Felipe moving his hand down the rail. The soft sound of a guitar strumming rose from the ground floor of the Rivera home, getting clearer as both entered the landing and strode toward the kitchen.  
The twins were greeted by the sight of Hector, sat up on the kitchen counter near the window. He was humming along to the distant singing of animals (skeletal and alebrije) filtering through the open window.

He glanced up as they entered.

" _Hola_ , Oscar. Felipe" He greeted nodding to both respectively as he spoke their names. The two shared a small glance. Both read a hint of disbelief on the others face, but it was quickly dropped as they made their way into the kitchen. Both agreed they really should be used to Hector just being able to tell which of them was which by this point, but the two would still find themselves surprised at how quick Hector was.

Both greeted him in unison. Felipe seated himself at the table as Oscar made his way to one of the upper cabinets. Glancing around the kitchen, Felipe was puzzled for a moment. Before he could open his mouth Oscar voiced the thought as he opened a cabinet.  
  
"Is Imelda not awake yet?" Oscar asked, pulling two near identical mugs down. Both were blue and white, with spot patterns. The difference between them was the colours were inverted.

"She'll be down in a moment." Hector said. "I'll be off the counter by the time she comes down."

"You will if you don't want a shoe to the skull, cuñado." Felipe reminded him, tone both amused and cautious.

Whatever Hector had as a retort was traded for a yell when a ribbon of fluorescent green shot past his face.  
He scrambled to keep himself on the counter and not drop his guitar, fumbling with it as it cluttered noisily in his hands. Both twins jumped at the sudden cry, Oscar backing close to the cabinets and holding the mugs up defensively while Felipe pushed back in his chair until he was grabbing the back of it with one hand, the balls of his feet grounded into the tiled floor and holding him up in the now tilted chair.

As the intruder landed on the table with a small thud, Felipe’s eyes fixed on a familiar figure.

Oscar shuffled closer, steps small and slow. Hector lowered his guitar, a makeshift shield, from his face and slowly slid his long legs off the counter so he was able to carefully lean over his instrument and inspect what was on the table.

"Is that…?" He asked quietly, not coming close to finishing the question, because he was already sure.

Felipe whined, glasses and hat askew, eyes locked onto the alebrije.

The same navy-blue eyes, same fluorescent greens, pinks and blues shining across it's scaled, reptilian body, and the same clear, glistening wings fluttering gently.

It was Lupe.

All three men stared at the small thing, not daring to move from their current stances in case anything set the still creature off.

Lupe seemed to hold no notice to the men's evident discomfort as she lay there, calm, small head tilting at her surroundings, not even focusing on any of the skeletons watching her every move.

She licked her eye and Oscar grimaced, making a small noise in the back of his throat. He was gripping the mugs more firmly, at an honest loss. Helplessly, he glanced between Hector and Felipe. They could surely avoid trouble if they caught it and simply released it outside the house. It was probably just flying around, accidentally came through the window and now couldn’t get out again.

"What…" He began, voice low and quiet, glancing between his twin and brother-in-law. "...Do we do about this?"

Wide-eyed, Hector carefully placed his guitar on the counter and slid himself off the kitchen counter. his boots accidentally scuffed against the floor with a high squeak.  
All three stiffened when the alebrije raised her head and blinked. Hector didn't dare move again until the reptile lowered down into a relaxed position. He crept a few inches closer to the table, where Felipe still half-stood, too shocked to move himself away. Hector winced, pulling at the a ridge of his straw hat.

"It would be best to get rid of it before Imelda comes down." He began, mostly thinking out loud.

The twins nodded in unison, a sense of dread on what chaos could come of anyone else coming in and startling the alebrije.

He _really_ didn’t want Lupe flying around the rest of the house.

Oscar's gaze glanced down to the mugs in his hands and his brows lifted suddenly.

"Aha." His excitement raised his voice slightly. Felipe shushed him hastily, a finger pressed to his own mouth as he glared between his brother and the alebrije, whose wings twitched, almost in warning.  
Oscar ducked sheepishly, wincing at the small movement of the alebrije's wings and calmly placed the mugs onto the counter behind him, making sure to not clatter them together. He opened the cabinet again, glancing back wearily at the alebrije.

No movement still.

He was tall, and didn't really need to reach for what he was trying to get, but he felt anxious as he tried to quietly shuffle a few bits of dishware aside to create a clear, noiseless path to pull the object out of.

He swore everything in this cabinet was louder than ever before.

Hector's helpless gaze flicked between Oscar digging through the cabinet, to Felipe and the alebrije at the table, and finally the kitchen doorway. He was half expecting someone to suddenly appear at any moment, and throw off the possible plan Oscar seemed to have. From what he had seen, and what had been described, the alebrije was fast in the air, and he was certain no one wanted to spend the Sunday morning trying to chase the alebrije out the house. The sooner they could get it out now, the better.

Oscar pulled away from the cabinet, a large bowl in his grasp. He turned it in his hands before moving his gaze back to the alebrije. He glanced toward Hector, clearly nervous.

 

"It should be big enough…" He muttered, but there was uncertainty lacing his voice, which made Hector wince in return. He only shrugged, attempting a reassuring smile.

"It looks big enough." Hector offered. "But now we need to actually catch it…"

Oscar sighed, bracing himself with another steady breath. He squared his shoulders, taking slow, calculated steps toward the table.

In a moment, he was leaning over the table more than he had been before, closer to the alebrije.

Just for a moment he watched it, fingers adjusting accordingly to the side of the bowl in case of any movement.

He hadn't noticed the small spikes and patterns across the scales before…

It was interesting-

The alebrije's wings twitched again.

Felipe watched as Lupe blinked slowly, seemingly unfazed by the circular shadow starting to move over her, the bowl hovering just above her,  Oscar adjusting the angle so he was certain the small thing wouldn't be accidentally crushed. To his relief, the bowl was wide and deep enough to safely catch and contain it. At least until they could find a way to get it back outside.

With a surge of confidence he brought the bowl down.

There was a sharp thud against the table and Felipe was sent backwards in his chair, a whip of air shooting up past him.  
  
" _Ay Dios_ , it's flying!" Hector yelled, Oscar cursing as he watched the creature fly up into the air.  
  
The other twin groaned from his place on the floor.

The two men left standing watched in a panic as the luminous reptile zipped about the kitchen, near the ceiling, and as it passed Hector he attempted to jump up and catch it with his hands, only to falter. He really didn't want to grab it while it was seemingly panicked, but what else was there to do?

Lupe dived suddenly, ducking out of his view behind the table.

Felipe grunt as he pushed himself up, elbows holding up his upper body, legs sprawled against the knocked over the chair. He stiffened when a small weight flopped against his chest.

He stared at Lupe, glasses skewered on his skull, hat tipped forward. Lupe stared back, before blinking one eye slowly, head lifting. Felipe's gaze slowly trailed up toward the rim of his hat invading his vision, before snapping back toward the alebrije.

He pleaded under his breath, wincing at the small creature.

Lupe sprung off Felipe's chest toward his face and he yelped, instantly grabbing for his hat to only have his hand claps against his skull and hair, Oscar's hands narrowly missing the alebrije and pushing against his twin.

" _¡No otra vez!_ "

Felipe staggered to his feet, pushing Oscar off him in the process.  Hector muttered anxiously as he leapt at the window, hands flat against it to push it shut.

It clicked close just as the last of the alebrije's tail escaped.

"If I hurry I can catch up to her!"

Oscar blinked, " _¿Qué-?_ " He staggered as Felipe charged past him into the hallway, only able to stare after his twin with a sense of disbelief.

Fast paced footsteps descended the stairs from the hallway and Imelda's voice cut through the confusion.

" _Felipe!_ Wha-?"

"'I'll be back, Imelda _¡Lo prometo!_ " The door was slammed. Hector and Oscar watched as the man ran past the window, an eerie radio silence suddenly buzzed through the home. 

Hector turned away from the window to look at Oscar, who looked more than worn out, shoulders slumped.

Both winced as Imelda's voice rang from the hallway. “Again, really?!”

 

* * *

 

 

A couple were parted as a streak of light shot past them, weaving from around the corner of a building. Both stared after it before being knocked back further back by a man scampering after it  
  
“ _¡Perdóneme!_ ” He yelled sheepishly as he passed them. 

Felipe felt a twinge of panic burst in his chest when he couldn’t see Lupe’s glow. His sprint stumbled into a jog as he hurriedly looked about, unsure if she was hidden in the small crowd of strangers going about their days. He paused, leaning against the wall to catch his breath, hand propped against a wall.  
  
Panting, he gave the scene another quick glance over. Small flickers of light drew his attention, but focusing on them he would see phone screens or metal reflecting light. Sometimes even an alebrije, but not the _right_ alebrije.  
  
He huffed.  
  
This whole thing was ridiculous. Not just the idea his hat had been stolen by the same alebrije, two days in a row, but the fact that he was following along.  
  
He jumped as a shrill chirp sounded above him. He looked up, finding Lupe settle herself on a lamp post just ahead of him, his hat still in her clutch. He pressed himself up, moving closer. He eyed the scene around him nervously, suddenly aware of how many people were on this street. It wasn’t an unfamiliar street, he had been down this way before and knew it was an area mostly known for various little daytime cafes and restaurants. 

“Lupe…” He mumbled under his breath, really unsure of how to get the alebrije to come down.  
  
He had high doubts she would listen, and that whatever she wanted to achieve, It was going to be done her way,  
What _that_ was he… Really didn’t know.  
  
He wasn’t knowledgeable on Alebrije. Curious, sure, but he’d never found much interest in looking into them too much.  
There were two things he knew for certain though.  
  
They made messes, and they were spirit guides.  
He couldn’t imagine what Lupe was doing with his hat though. The same event twice in a few days couldn’t just be a coincidence. With an alebrije, it could mean something. But why would it mean anything to him when she wasn’t his spirit guide. She should be guiding her actual spiritual companion, shouldn’t she?  
Maybe despite how nonsensical it felt, there was a reason.  
He _really_ hoped so.

Lupe’s wings gave a sharp shudder, and she was up in the air again.  
Biting back a small whine, Felipe pushed himself up to follow after the alebrije with a halfhearted jog. She wasn’t going too fast, her form hopping in long glides from street lamp to street lamp, seemingly to keep a deliberately steady pace. He could almost swear she glanced back toward him at some point, continuing at the sight of him following.

Felipe was balancing out not crashing into anyone and following after the alebrije overhead, head darting between the street and the glowing blur.  
Lupe suddenly dove down, falling between a small crowd moving around in front of him.  
Mumbling out quick apologies as his shoulders bump against others. His head ducking close to his rib cage when a few shoot him sharp looks as he hurriedly pushes past them.  
Finding himself on the other side of the small crowd, he pauses to take in where he was, heaving a heavy breath to calm down.

His gaze falls onto the building in front of him. A cantina.  
The building was the smallest against the surrounding ones on the street, topped with a red tiled roof which slanted down to the left. The doorway was flagged by two green plastic palm plants, the name of the cantina lay above the doorway in bold yellow lettering reading _‘La palmera‘_.

Half sheltered between the two buildings and spreading out toward the street was the outside seating area up on a patio. The patio looked more spacious than the actual cantina itself. 

It lay between him and the building, the wooden patio elevated just above the cobbled pavement he was stood on, only one small step needed to get onto it. Resting a hand on the dark metal fencing, he stepped up onto the entrance way.  
  
Shoulders hunched, Felipe clenched a hand close to his chest, his thumb rubbing over his fingers. The patio area was pretty spacious. Most of the rounded tables were clear apart from menus and a few condiments, a few shaded by open umbrellas. Only one or two tables still had leftovers out on them, one having attracted a small bird-like alebrije (The flash of colours immediately catching Felipe’s attention) to pick at what remained.  
It was quickly shooed off with a napkin by a nearby customer, the alebrije taking off with a gull-like cry. 

In terms of customers, there weren’t an awful lot. A few older patrons, dressed up in clothes dating further back than his own. He glanced about, taking a few steps forward to see if he could find Lupe, gaze ducking under the tables and around the rims of the open umbrellas, just trying to catch a glimpse of her from where he was.  
  
A few steps forward, his gaze had swept over toward a further corner of the patio . His shoulders tense, sight falling onto a familiar figure among the rounded tables and chairs outside the cantina.  
  
Her modern look was bold against the rustic wood of the patio and fancier clothes of the other customers sat outside, with a white short sleeve shirt, tucked into grey jeans  
  
Sat at one of the small round tables by herself was Valeria.  
  
She was hunched forward, a cheekbone held up by her hand, legs crossed under the small table with the top leg bouncing a little, biker boots accenting a deep purple when they caught the light. A leather jacket lay draped over the back of her chair. Different to the one from the other day, Felipe noticed, glancing over the rich blue colour. He could just see a hint of blue on her shirt, a square image in the middle of the chest. An ocean, he guessed, but he really wasn’t concerned about _that_ at the moment.

Lupe suddenly swooped into the scene. Valeria didn’t even glance up as the alebrije swept just above her, air trailing behind the alebrije upsetting her hair for a moment. Valeria’s gaze stayed locked on a pink flip-phone in her hand. Lupe then circled back around, and Felipe watches his hat drop onto the table, rolling on the bowled top. 

Her head shot up. She stared, blinking at the hat in bewilderment.  
The alebrije followed shortly after, free falling into the hat.  
Chirping loudly, her sudden weight shifts the hat as though it were her own small rocking chair, her claws grip the edge of the hat and she looked up at Valeria, who gaped.  
  
Felipe watched Valeria mouth the alebrije’s name, her expression giving away a lot of disbelief and annoyance.  
  
He takes a shaky breath, chest tightening once again as he begins to weave through a few empty tables. She glances him over the first time, then looks up again. She smiled halfheartedly, the markings on her skull illuminating just the smallest amount.  
  
“ _Hola_ , again.” She grabbed the brim of his hat and flipped it, the alebrije inside flopping down onto the table with a small thud.  
  
A small laugh slips past Felipe’s mouth. “ _Hola_ … Again.”  
  
There was a pause between them, neither really sure what to say as Valeria stood, walking around the table to hold his hat out to him.  
  
“I’ll tell you what,” She says after a moment. “She’s never done… This.” She gestures vaguely toward his hat. Felipe’s fingers drum against the rim of his hat.  
  
“I… Is there a reason she might be doing this?”  
  
“Not that I can think of…” Valeria muttered, arms folded over one another as she looked over at Lupe, crawling under the table top, her glowing body distorted by the clear patterned glass. “This is probably really annoying for you though, I’m really sorry about all of this.”  
  
“It’s… It’s alright. She’s not stealing from the shop or the house, so that’s a relief. It just seems to be my hat.”  
  
“It,” She pauses to laugh, “It does look like that, yeah.”  
  
“At this rate, I’m wondering if it might be easier to not wear it.” He offered with a small smile.  
  
Valeria watched him for a moment, before grinning. “You could tape it to your head?”  
  
Felipe fixed the hat back into place with a short chuckle, “Hm, perhaps. At least I'll be prepared for when she comes by again.” He shrugs, “It feels like this isn’t going to be the last time.”  
  
Valeria rests her fists on her hips as she shifted her weight onto one leg. “Pfft… You think you know more about my alebrije than me?”  
  
“I might if this keeps happening. Are you sure she’s your alebrije? She seems to be guiding me around a bit… consistently?”  
  
She barked out a laugh. “You can keep her! If you want to deal with this mess, _por favor_. Be my guest!”

Felipe looked over Lupe, “I’m… Good, I think. I don’t know if she’d last with Pepita.”  
  
“She’s a pretty sturdy thing, given her size.” She grins, “Like me, I suppose.” She settles herself back down in her seat. She began to fiddle with the charms cluttered around her phone. Felipe could only make out a few familiar shapes in the pile of plastic charms. He was almost sure the charm pile was bigger than the phone itself. “Is Pepita your alebrije?”  
  
His gaze snaps back to her watching him expectantly. He shakes his head, “No, no. She’s my sister’s alebrije. She was her cat in life. Now she’s, uh… Well, Imelda had to make sure the house was big enough for her to come in...”  
  
Valeria snort, “Yeah, it’s wild how different they can be when you cross over. Lupe couldn’t fly- big shock, I know-.” She pauses to grin at him broadly, “But, she was great at hiding and giving me aneurysms.”  
  
“I suppose that’s worse now?”  
  
“‘Cus she can fly wherever and whenever?” She pretends to mull it over, before shaking her head, “Nah, not at all.”

Lupe emerged again, crawling up the other side of the table and back onto the surface, her wings fluttering halfheartedly. 

“Well…” Valeria begins, letting go of the charms and resting her cheekbone against a closed fist. “I, uh… I’m sorry about all this trouble-”  
  
Lupe titters, then launched herself up, making a quick beeline for Felipe. He winced, taking a step back as she landed on his shoulder. He stiffens, shoulders up as he did his best to not move.  
  
Valeria stands, “Lupe!” She hisses.  
  
The alebrije pads her claws against his shirt, clearly content to not move at all.  
  
“Lupe, get off. You’re making him uncomfortable.” She moves over, hands reaching up. She pauses with a wince, motioning toward the alebrije. Felipe nods, mustering a nervous smile.  
  
Glancing down, Felipe could see Valeria balancing on her tip-toes to scoop Lupe into her hands. He sucked in a small breath. He hadn’t noticed how the blue shapes under her eye sockets formed a water drops, light blue and outlined with a deep navy. Either side of the tears were a spot of purple and a line of pink which was only just visible against the white bone The navy colour continued, around her eyes in varying dot sizes and just above her upper lip sat a small heart.  
  
He wondered if she’d had something there when she was alive.  
  
His skull warm, he tore his gaze down to his shoes, ignoring the annoyed chitter Lupe made as she was tugged off him.  
  
Valeria held Lupe firmly to her chest, cradling her in her hands to keep her from leaping back onto him.  
He dared to look back up and their eyes met. Valeria blinked, her eyes seeming to glance over his skull. He cleared his throat to will the nerves bundling in his chest away as she shuffled some distance back between them with a small smile, gaze not leaving his.  
  
“Um…” She reached a hand up to push back a stray curl from her skull. “Uh... Do- uh… Do you have anywhere you need to be? Like, urgently?”  
  
Felipe lift his head, uncertainty flashing across his face. “I, uh… Why do you ask?”  
  
She shook her head as Lupe slipped out of her grip, weaving quickly up her arm. “Look, I can’t just say sorry. It doesn’t really make up for this. -” She vaguely gestures around them with her hand ”-Maybe I could  get you a drink or something?”  
She shrugs, rolling her eyes playfully. “If you want one, it’s not like i’m gonna force you or anything.” A small pause, and she flashed him a cheeky grin. “Maybe.”  
  
“I…” He stuttered. If he really thought about it, he wasn’t really in a rush. He didn’t plan on staying out long, but in that moment he couldn’t think of a reason why he couldn’t stay a few minutes.  
  
“I… Think that would be nice, actually..” He chuckled, pulling out the chair opposite Valeria. “He thought for a moment, frowning,  “Although…”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“Shouldn’t I be getting you something? You _were_ hit in the face by my hat the other day...”  
  
She huffed as he sat down. “Yeah, but that was because of _my_ Alebrije. That’s not really your fault, so…”  
  
He rolls his shoulders in a small shrug, smiling shyly, “I suppose… But, Are you sure-?”

She laughs, cutting him off, “It’s fine.” She waves her hand dismissively, reaching for the plastic menu pushed to the side on the table and flipping it around in her hands, holding it out toward him. “Come on, what can I get you while we’re here?”

 

* * *

 

 

Hector stood by the doorway for a moment, looking into the kitchen, it’s occupant unaware of his presence.  
Oscar had only really settled in the kitchen a few minutes ago. It wasn’t too long after Felipe’s dash out the door he’d started getting, well, fidgety. It only increased when Felipe hadn’t returned within the ten minute mark like had yesterday.  
  
Hector scratched at his cheek with a wince, a twist in his chest at the sight in front of him.  
  
It wasn’t rare to see the twins both leaned over the note book either one would carry around. It was full of potential ideas, shoes designs, lists of parts needed for fixing up (and improving, by their standards) small mechanics they had shoved in the basement and garage. The loose and discoloured pieces that had been stuck into it added to the charm of the small leather booklet Oscar currently had open in front of him, though his head was turned to look out beyond the kitchen window, brow fixed into a small frown.  
The booklet was laid out on the table just to the side of him, the pencil in his hands being tapped rhythmically against the new bank page. The way Oscar was sat, the way the book wasn’t completely in front of him, felt so off.  
  
Hector could see the empty space where Felipe typically would have been, and it caused a slight twist in his rib cage. It was always Oscar _and_ Felipe. There was never really a reason to mention one without the other.  
  
Hector rapped his knuckles against the frame as he strolled in. Oscar seemed to jolt at the noise, clearly focused.

“Hey, Oscar!” He declared, perhaps a bit more loudly than he had been anticipating to. Even so, Oscar didn’t seem to notice the extra enthusiasm as he settled back to drum the pen against the small open notebook in front of him.  
  
“Oh, _hola_ _cuñado_.” He glanced back out the window before hesitantly turning back toward Hector, the pencil in his fingers stilling a little. “Is Imelda upset?”  
  
“Eh, not as much as she was.” Concerned, more than anything, he thought, and he was sure Oscar was feeling the same.  
  
Oscar nod, “Mm.” His gaze went back toward the window.  
  
Hector watched him for a moment, an awkwardness twisting tighter in his chest.  
He could easily guess Oscar wasn’t thrilled with Felipe suddenly not being there. He knew loneliness. Maybe not the exact type Oscar could be feeling, but still...  
  
Hector’s fingers drummed against the table as he thought. Staying here probably wasn’t going to help Oscar’s nerves, so maybe there’d be a way to distract him. He lifted his head, snapping his fingers to get his attention.  
  
“Hey, hey, I just remembered! I knew I came in here to ask you something and it just came back to me.” That was a lie, but Oscar didn’t need to know that. He laughed, shaking his head. “What am I like?”  
  
Oscar blinked up at him. “I, uh… What did you want to ask?”  
  
“You know those flowers you got for Rosita, for her birthday?”  
  
“ _¿Sí?_ ”  
  
“Well, I’ve been thinking about getting some for Imelda. I think the plants on our window sill are, eh, wearing out a little?”  
  
Oscar nod slowly with a small hum, eyeing Hector. If he was suspicious, he wasn’t saying anything. Which worked well for Hector.  
  
“Maybe you could take me down there today! While nothing else is really happening?”  
  
Oscar seemed to mull it over for a moment, putting the pencil down to rub his moustache. “I’m… Not sure if the shop we went to would be open today?”  
  
Hector shrugged, “That’s fine. I can always go back another time if they’re not open. But if you could show me where this place is, that would be great.”  
  
“I… Can’t you go down to one of the closer shops?” Oscar asked.  
  
“I mean… I would If I could. I’m not sure if I’m allowed back in there after the, uh, Dante incident.” While Hector left before he could know if it was a permanent ban, he was sure the damage caused wasn’t going to be easily forgiven.  
  
Oscar grimaced. “Oh, right. I… Forgot that happened.”  
  
“At least it was just me and no one else got banned.” Hector chuckled. “Anyways, you said it was a nice place? Where you got Rosita’s flowers? I’d really appreciate your help, _cuñado_.”  
  
Oscar glanced out the window again, eyes scanning the scene again as he mulled it over. Finally he sighed, putting down the music box onto the table.  
  
“Okay. We can go down now, I suppose.”

“Great! _Gracias_ , Oscar.”  
  
Victoria stepped into the kitchen with a book tucked under one arm, glancing between the two as they stood from the table.  
  
“Oh, _mija_ ! We’re just heading out for a little bit.” Hector explained as he tucked his chair in, standing in front of her with his hands clasped together.  
  
She raised a brow at him, looking toward Oscar as he stepped closer to the kitchen window, arms folded. “Where are you going?”  
  
“Your Tío going to show me the flower shop he and Felipe stopped at. Thought it would be good to know where it is if I wanted to get something in the future.”

Hector, head not moving, shift his gaze toward Oscar as he turned back from glancing out the window. Victoria’s expression softened back into something neutral, and she nod curtly.  
  
“Right. I’ll be sure to let anyone know where you are if they ask.”  
  
Hector’s grin lift. He lift his arms up and out toward Victoria. She glanced between his hands, rolled her eyes with a slim smile, and stepped in closer. Hector’s hands lift to hold her cheek bones and he gently pecked the top of her forehead.  
  
“ _Gracias, mija_!” His hands left her face and he stepped around her, practically dragging Oscar out after him.

Victoria shook her head, adjusting her glasses.

 

* * *

 

 

“-And then it just -BOOSH!’” Valeria’s hands left her empty mug, raising into fake explosions either side of her head. “-Smoke and everything!” She laughed as Felipe gaped, seemingly stuck between laughter and disbelief.  
  
“ _Dios mio.._ .” He mumbled, holding onto his own empty mug, thumbs toying along the ridges.  
  
“Yeah.” Valeria nodded, smiling fondly as he hands lowered. “I wasn’t allowed back in the garage for weeks.” She grinned cheekily, “Well, by word. I snuck in occasionally but I was never caught so…” She winked at the end. Felipe’s markings glowed as he laughed, the sound coming out much more forced than he had meant it too. A few customers sat behind him glanced toward their table for a split moment.  
  
“Well!” He coughed, “If you weren’t caught, it clearly doesn’t count.”  
  
Valeria's grin widened, her eyes brightening. “Exactly! I’m glad you get it. My br-” She paused, face falling for a moment before she grinned again, the smile not quite stretching fully as she glanced out toward the street. “My buddy would always say i’d get in more trouble. But I didn’t! So that worked out, thankfully.”  
  
Felipe nod as he pushed his mug aside. “Do you, uhm, work with other machinery? Other than vehicles?”  
  
She shrugged, folding her arms as she lent back. “I guess? I nearly fixed an oven once.” She grimaced. “It… didn’t end well.”  
  
Felipe chuckled, head ducking shyly. “Ah, yeah. My brother and I got banned from touching anything in the kitchen. Imelda was furious when we nearly blew up half the kitchen.”  
  
Valeria grinned, leaning forward on her elbows eagerly. “ _Dios_ , you’ll have to tell me how you managed that!” 

He scratched the back of his head, glancing toward his hat laid down on the table. Lupe was over on Valeria’s abandoned plate, nibbling at a tiny left over piece of _pan dulce_.  
  
“We were certain we’d found a way to improve the oven’s air ventilation as well as a few other things, but…” He winced. “I think we got some of the wiring wrong.” He sighed, resting his chin in his hands thoughtfully. 

Valeria smiled sympathetically, reaching over and gently punching his arm to get his attention. “Hey, it sounds like you had the best intentions. At least next time you’ll know what not to do, so…” She shrugged. 

Felipe nod, watching the stray hair curls bounce over Valeria’s face as she sat back in her seat with an easy grin, looping an arm over the back. They sat in a comfortable silence as Valeria watched in amusement as Lupe lick at the crumbs remaining on her plate. Felipe’s gaze lingered on the curls just falling over the top of Valeria’s brow, his fingers twitching against the mug. He didn’t realise he was staring until she turned her gaze back toward him. He quickly looked down into his mug.  
  
“So, you and your brother. Oscar, was it?” He nod, unable to hold back an enthusiastic grin at the mention of his twin. More of a reflex than anything. He had yet to really mention the fact that he and Oscar were twins. He had considered it when it had come up moments ago. But then he considered the fun that could come from Valeria not knowing, and kept that information back. It wasn’t a lie after all.

“What kind of stuff do you guys do? You like blowing up stuff by the sound of it.” She flashed a mischievous grin.  
  
He huffed, folding his arms and sitting back. “We don’t do it on purpose.” He muttered.  
  
“What do you do then?”  
  
“Well, officially, we’re shoemakers.”  
  
Valeria blinked, grin blinking into intrigue. “Shoemakers?”  
  
“Shoemakers.” He confirmed. He grinned, scratching his chin. “We’ve both have a bit of a, ah, interest in inventing though.” She leaned forward with a nod and a gentle ‘uh-huh’, resting her chin in both hands.  
  
“I know there’s those shoes with the wheels that got popular a while ago-”  
  
“Oh, Heelys!” Valeria spoke up, eyes lighting up a touch. “My _amiga’s hermano_ had them.”  
  
Felipe huffed, “I had the idea of putting wheels on boots way back before they were a thing. Imelda wasn’t fond of those ideas.”  
  
Valeria snickered. “I mean, I've heard those shoes aren't that popular any more? You’re probably not missing out.”  
  
“There were some we did sneak through Imelda’s inspection.” His frown shifting into a thoughtful smile. He grinned up at her. “We put some wheels on a pair of wingtips for the girls to push around.”  
  
“N’aw,” Valeria half cooed. She pushed herself back up as Lupe clambered over her arm. “Sounds like you two have a bit of a knack for it.”  
  
Felipe sat a little taller, a shy grin forming on his skull. “I guess we’ve just always enjoyed messing around with things. It’s interesting.”  
  
Valeria nod, a hand going to stroke a finger against the top of Lupe’s head. The alebrije scampered up her arm, and butt her head against Valeria’s cheek bone with a gentle ‘bonk’. Valeria flinched and pried the small alebrije off with a huff.  
“Ow, hey! What’s up with you, bud?” Lupe chittered, wings shaking as she curled over Valeria’s hands gently holding her in place. Felipe leaned away from the table, ready to duck away if… Well, anything happened.  
  
Valeria frowned, humming a bit as she looked over Lupe. She loosened her grip and Lupe gently nibbling at her hand, nipping across the fingers.  
“Oh…” Valeria’s brows rose. She winced up toward Felipe. “I’m gonna need to go soon. There’s some stuff I gotta do.”  
  
“Ah.” Felipe nodded, unable to hold back the disappointed drop in his voice  
  
Valeria picked up her flip phone, flicking the lid up as she smiled at him. “I had fun though! Thanks for indulging me in hanging out.”  
  
“I, uh, I had fun too! This was rather nice.”  
  
Valeria’s thumb pressed against a button on the phone, muttering a small ‘What time is it, anyway?’ under her breath. Felipe frowned, curious about the same thing. Instinctively, he went to dig out a pocket watch, only to find his pockets oddly empty. He winced, suddenly thankful Valeria had been paying when he had nothing on him. He must’ve left everything when he ran out the door.  
  
He felt a twist of guilt deep in his chest and winced. He had been enjoying Valeria’s company and more or less forgotten about his second dash out the door. He was going to have to answer for that and explain how he got side-tracked.  
He could already hear all the remarks, but at least he’d had a pleasant time. That almost made up for the teasing he’d probably endure from Oscar later. He hoped he hadn’t worried him too much.  
  
“Could I get the time, please?” He asked, an anxious lilt in his voice. Valeria nod, flipping the screen of her phone and turning it toward him, the screen on. He blinked, adjusting his glasses as he leaned closer. Valeria point her finger to the top corner, and he could hear amusement in her voice. “Just up here, _amigo_ .”  
  
“Right.” He nodded. “How long have we-?”  
  
“About ten minutes.” She winced. “ _Lo siento_ , didn’t mean to hold you up-”  
  
“Oh, no, not at all!” He replied quickly, standing. Felipe stood for a moment, frozen in place, as Valeria blinked up at him through her lashes. He avert his gaze, scooping up the hat to drum his fingers against the rim.  
“It was a nice chat. I should head home, though. _Mi familia_ might worry, with how I suddenly left after all.” He trailed off sheepishly.  
  
Valeria was up, sliding her hands into the arms of her jacket and shrugging it on with a loud laugh. “Well, you can blame me and my little devil for that.” She winked. Felipe smiled timidly, reaching up to fit his hat back onto his head.  
  
“Well.” He began. “Hopefully this won’t be the last time she bothers me.” Valeria frowned, seeming guilty and he continued quickly. “So, perhaps, when we end up bumping into each other again- I mean, if that is- we could continue? This chat, I mean?”  
  
Valeria’s grin slowly lift back up as he spoke. When he was finished she chuckled, walking around the table and gently punching his arms, barely really grazing him, with a friendly smirk.  
  
“I’d like that! I guess until Lupe bothers you again?” She offered with a small shrug, as they made their way down toward the steps of the patio.  
  
He tipped his hat to her politely. “Until then, I suppose.”  
  
She laughed, burying her hands into her open jacket’s pockets.  
She looked back up at him as they stood a few paces from the patios steps, just in front of the rest oft he street. “Have a good day, Felipe.”  
  
He placed his hat back, smile wide. “You too, Valeria”

She gave his a small wave before walking down the street. As the he turned the other way to start the trek home, a small weight landed against his shoulder.  
He froze stiff as a buzz sounded next to his ear, something rough brushing against his chin before it was just as quickly gone.  
He glanced back to catch Lupe leaving through the other passers, landing swiftly on Valeria’s shoulder as she continued to walk.

Felipe’s head ducked as he spun about to hurry down the street, missing the way Valeria paused to glance over her shoulder, markings bright. She stared, watching his back for a moment before sighing. 

“Lupe.” She mumbled to her alebrije, a hand rubbing her temple tiredly. “You can’t do this again.”  
  
Her spirit guide looked up at her from her shoulder perch. She winked after a second.  
  
“You can’t!” Valeria stressed, shoulder hunching as she nearly stormed down the street, startling a man passing her.  
  
Eventually she slowed, feet beginning to hurt from stomping. She then winced, feeling something hard prod sharply against the sole of her foot. She paused to shake her foot, and felt something rattle against the bone and shoe. She scowled.  
  
“Ugh.”  
She mumbled, moving off the the side of the street and out of the way to lean against a wall. She lift her foot, inspecting the heel. She prod a finger against a bit of loose material, her finger sliding into the shoe.  
  
She tut. “These now need fixing then?” Lupe chirped, crawling across her shoulder and into a pocket inside her jacket.  
Valeria huffed.  
“You’re luck, Lupe. You don’t need to deal with shoes.” She pulled the shoe off, shaking it until the small pebble bounced t the pavement. She slipped it back on, struggling past the untied laces, and walked on.

“Tell you what,” She spoke up, lifting the side of her jacket so Lupe’s head poked out. “You behave and maybe we’ll stop by the park later. _Only_ if you behave.”  
  
Lupe’s wings fluttered with an excited buzz, taking off into the air as Valeria quickened her pace, grinning.


End file.
